To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Economic Development Board
Staff Name and Phone Number: Ethan Brown (707) 565-7170
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Economic Development Board Micro-business Grants
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Authorize the Economic Development Department to accept a grant in the amount of $610,367.82 from the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA)
B) Adopt a resolution authorizing a budgetary adjustment of $610,368 to the Economic Development Department 2021-2022 Final Budget.
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
On December 22, 2021, Economic Development Department staff received notice of an intent to award grant funds from the California Office of Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA). The award will provide grants to local micro-businesses that meet specific criteria set forth by the State of California. CalOSBA has announced an anticipated award for the full amount of funding available to Sonoma County under the program. Economic Development Department staff is seeking adoption of a resolution authorizing a budgetary adjustment of $610,368 for the purposes of expending the award.
Discussion:
In October 2021, and in response to a persistent need for economic aid to small businesses, CalOSBA announced the availability of $50 million in one-time funding to be distributed through counties, coalitions and/or nonprofit entities. The intent of the available funding is to provide relief to businesses and entrepreneurs that are traditionally difficult to reach, and face systemic barriers to accessing capital, including (but not limited to) businesses owned by women, minorities, veterans, individuals without documentation, individuals with low English proficiency, and business owners located in low-wealth and rural communities.
In November, Economic Development Department staff submitted a proposal to CalOSBA, including a detailed plan for outreach, structured agreements with local non-profits and trusted community partners to expand outreach and in-language access. As a condition of approval by CalOSBA, a draft agreement with Working Solutions CDFI to act as fiscal agent, and to ensure programmatic compliance and timely disbursement of grant funds was also submitted. Due to this unique requirement, staff previously presented an item on December 7, 2021 to obtain authority to enter into the agreement with Working Solutions CDFI. Because the previous Board item did not seek authority to execute a grant agreement with CalOSBA, nor did it include the terms of the actual grant, staff is returning to the Board of Supervisors with this item.
Per CalOSBA’s notice of intent to award, Sonoma County will receive $610,367.82 in funding. As required by the state, grant amounts are set at $2,500 per business, and are available to businesses with fewer than five (5) full-time equivalent employees that were in business before December 31, 2019, and had less than $50,000 in revenues for the 2019 tax year. Staff anticipates this program will provide 217 grants to eligible Sonoma County Microbusinesses.
In order to maximize awareness of the grant program, EDB staff has facilitated partnerships with 13 local partners to provide bi-lingual outreach and technical assistance with the application process, as well as arranged for the translation of materials in nine languages in addition to English and Spanish through the County’s contract with Language People.
A tentative timeline for program execution is below:
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February 2022 |
Outreach materials developed, translated and distributed |
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February 2022 |
EDB and Vendor finalize application portal |
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February 2022 |
EDB holds application workshops |
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February 2022 |
Application portal launch |
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Throughout application period |
Application review and preliminary verification |
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March 2022 |
Application portal closes |
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March 2022 |
Final grant evaluations/selections |
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March 2022 |
Contact with grantees; final verification, deposit info |
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March 2022 |
Grant disbursement begins |
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April 2022 |
Grant disbursement completed |
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
12/07/2021 - Delegate authority to the Economic Development Board Director, or designee, in consultation with County Counsel and the County Administrator, to enter into contracts necessary to utilize $610,367.82 in grant funds to be distributed to local microbusinesses in compliance with the terms of the grant and the County’s competitive procedures. (<https://sonoma-county.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5339452&GUID=61F33128-B39D-4FD2-B173-8A9AFEA5A6BE&Options=&Search>=)
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
$610,368 |
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Total Expenditures |
$610,368 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$610,368 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$610,368 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
$610,368 is anticipated to be awarded by CalOSBA. $542,500 of these funds will be distributed as grants. Estimated administrative costs include $54,250 for a Fiscal Agent that will develop an online application portal, management controls, evaluation, verification and disbursement processes, and reporting and approximately $13,600 for translation and transcription services, as well as print and digital advertising.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
None
Attachments:
Budget Resolution
CalOSBA Proposed Grant Agreement
CalOSBA Notice of Intent to Award Grant
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None